Hike in Duties for the Dry Fruit affects India USA Trade

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Almonds are the symbol of health. A nice commodity to given as gift also. If the price is moderate then market and the consumers are happy. The health of the consumer also remains steady. But with the hike in duty for import has raised the price of the almond in the market. The trade between USA and India is two way. The chamber of Commerce agencies also raised the eyebrows on the pricing and the duties.

The US is the largest source of imports of walnut and almond. The state of California in the USA is the biggest source of imports of almonds in India and with the rise in import duties, these almonds will get costlier. According to estimates, the USA constitutes about 25 percent of India's total import of walnut.

India's retaliation of raising import duties on items majorly imported from the USA will result in higher prices of dry fruits, particularly almond and walnut, say businessmen. The USA is the largest suppliers of these commodities and there are not many alternative suppliers, which can help India diversify its imports.

What came as shock for importers and traders is that the hike in duties is not just targeted at imports from the USA but all the imports, independent of the source of the imports. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) in a notification on Wednesday, raised the import duty on walnut from 30 percent to 120 percent and on almond by 20 percent . This means that prices will rise for all imports and not just from the USA.

Traders say that the move by central government may not gel with the ground realities. "The decision could not have come at a worse time. The business is already down after demonetization and GST. Now with the rise in import duties, the products will become less affordable for the end users and business will further fall for businessmen," said Hiren Gandhi, former Chairman of Food Committee of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

Gandhi also informed that duties will be levied on the base price of the commodity and not the market price. "As of now, prices of many commodities like black pepper are ruling lower than the base price. An importer will have to pay tax as per the higher price, which will further raise the price of the commodity affected demand and sales," said Gandhi.

The combined impact of these moves is such that market demand has dropped in smaller cities, towns and villages. A rise in prices at this stage means that the demand will fall further.